Heme oxygenase-1 protects donor livers from ischemia/reperfusion injury: The role of Kupffer cells

Figure 2 HO-1 overexpression ameliorates hepatic I/R injury. A: The expression of hepatic HO-1 was evaluated by RT-PCR before liver transplantation. β-actin was used as an internal control. Decreased expression of HO-1 mRNA was detected 24 h after ZnPP treatment. CoPP treatment increased HO-1 mRNA (n = 4/group). ^bP < 0.001; ^cP < 0.0001; B: Hepatocellular function. Serum ALT/AST levels (U/L) were higher in the ZnPP group as compared with controls. Significantly lower serum transaminase levels were seen in the CoPP group (n = 8/group). ^aP < 0.05; ^dP < 0.01; C: Representative photomicrographs of rat livers following 6 h reperfusion. Livers in ZnPP group show severe lobular distortion, sinusoidal congestion, ballooning, hepatocyte necrosis. Livers pretreated with CoPP exhibit good preservation of lobular architecture. Original magnification, × 400; HE stain.